Time-controlled mechanism for cylinder washing-machines.



W. BARTHOLOMEW & F. BALZER TIME CONTROLLED MECHANISM FOR CYLINDER WASHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5. 1912.- RENEWED NOV. 22. 19W.-

Patented Jan. 1,1918.

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TIME CONTROLLED MECHANISM FOR CYLINDER WASHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5, 1912 RENEWED NOV. 22.19l7. 1,251,737. Patented Jan. 1,1918.

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I,\" A L W. BARTHOLOMEW & F. BALZER.

TIME CONTROLLED MECHANISM FOR CYLINDER WASHING MAGHlNES-.

APPLICATION HLED APR. 5,1912. RENEWED NOV, 22.1917.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM BARTHOLOMEW AND FRITZ BALZER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS T0 TROY LAUNDRY MACHINERY COMPANY, LTD., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPO- RATION OF NEW YORK.

TIME-CONTROLLED MECHANISM FOR CYLINDER WASHING-MACHINES.

Application filed April 5, 1912, Serial No. 688,746.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatwe, WVILLIAM BARTHOLO- MEW, a citizen of the United States, and Fnrrz BALZER, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, both residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Time-Controlled Mechanism for (r ylinder lVashing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates in general to washing machinery, and relates more particularly to means for automatically permitting the discharge of water from the tank of a washing machine after the elapse of a predetermined interval of time.

It frequently happens that a single attendant is in charge of the operation of several washing machines, and one of his duties is. after the clothes have been sufiiciently washed, to open the outlet valve of the tank of each machine and let the water run out preparatory to filling the tank with clean water to receive another supply of articles. As the attendant cannot give his entire attention to each machine, it is impractical for him to open the valve of each machine at the exact time the articles therein have been sutlieiently washed, and hence the charge of articles in each machine necessarily remains therein longer than is necessary, and the capacity of the machine is, therefore, not fullv available, and further the time of the attendant is wasted While he Waits for the discharge of the water from the tank of each machine after he has opened the outlet valve thereof.

The primary object of our invention is to provide a washing machine, or the like, in which the water will be automatically discharged after the elapse of a predetermined interval of time.

A further object of our invention is to provide an attachment for cylinder Washing machines for automatically opening the outlet valve after the articles have been subject ed to washing a predetermined length of time.

A still further object of our invention is to provide machines of the character herein described, with mechanism actuated by the machine for controlling the operation there- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

Renewed November 22, 1917. Serial No. 203,465.

of, whereby the operation of the machine will be rendered more eflicient and economical.

Our invention will be more fully disclosed hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same is illustrated as embodied in a convenient and practical form, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective View;

Fig. 2, a sectional view on line 2 2, Fig. 3;

Fig. 3, a sectional View on line 3 3, Fig. 2;

Figs. 4 and 5, detail plan and sectional views of a portion of the worm wheel;

Fig. 6, a sectional view on line 6 6, Fig. 3:

Fig. 7, a detail plan view of our improve ment, the cooperating adjacent portion of the washing machine being also shown; and

Fig. 8, a sectional view on line 8 8, Fig. 3.

The same reference characters are used to designate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Reference letter A indicates a power driven cylindrical washing machine comprising a stationary casing supported upon pairs of legs A and A beneath the opposite ends thereof. (4 indicates the cover of the casing which may be opened or closed to permit access to the rotating cylinder 6 inclosed by the casing. Shafts extend axially from the opposite ends of the cylinder through the circular end walls of the casing A, one of such shafts being designated 13. Fixed upon the outer end of each shaft B is a gear wheel C, each of which meshes with a smaller gear wheel D fixed upon a shaft (l. E designates a power shaft having thereon a pinion e which meshes with the gear wheel D. Any suitable power connections, such as indicated at D, are provided for rotating the shaft E, and through the train of gears rotating the cylinder within the casing A. F designates an outlet conduit communicating with the bottom of the cylinder A and controlled by a.

a valve f. G designates the valve stem which extends upwardly and is engaged by a lever G passing through an opening in the valve stem G and fulcrumed upon a link 9' connected at its lower end to the cap F of the valve casing.

The cylindrical washing machine above described does not in itself constitute our invention, but is illustrated and Y described herein in order that the construction and 013- eration of our improvements may be fully disclosed. It will be obvious from the following description that our invention is not limited in its application to the specific form of cylinder washing machine herein disclosed, but is adapted for use in connection with other forms of washing machines, or 1n connection with machines for other purposes.

H designates a casing provided with a removable cover H. The casing may be conveniently supported by a pair of standards h secured to the opposite sides thereof and supported at their lower ends upon the cap F of the casing of the valve f. In the drawings, we have shown the lower ends of the standards 72. as provided with outwardly extending feet through which extend screws f which secure the cap F to the valve casingif J ournaled within the casing H is a shaft I, the inner end of which is rotatably supported in a bearing 71 which may be conveniently formed integrally with the casing H. The outer end of the shaft I extends through a bearing 71, in the adjacent wall of the casing H. J designates a ratchet wheel upon the shaft 1. K designates an oscillatory lever rotatably mounted upon the shaft I between the hub of the ratchet wheel J and the inner end of the hearing it. Supported within a chamber in the upper end of thelever K is a pawl K adapted to engage the teeth on the periphery of the ratchet wheel J. A spring k yieldingly retains the pawl K in contact with the ratchet wheel, such spring surrounding the portion of the pawl within the chamber in the lever K and engaging the under surface of a cap 10 which closes the upper end of such chamber and through which the upper end of the pawl extends. The lever K projects below the shaft I and is provided with a pair of cars K between which is pivoted the inner end of a plunger L, said plunger extending through a bearing 71, in the wall of the casing, being provided with a friction roller Z at its outer end. A stop collar 1 is fixedto the plunger L within the casing and is adapted to engage the inner end of the bearing 72, to limit the outward movement of the plunger. M designates a spring surrounding the portion of the plunger outside of the casing engaging at its inner end the bearing k and at its outer end a collar m fixed upon the plunger L. The spring M retains the friction roller Z in contact with a cam ringN concentrically secured to the spokes of the adjacent gear wheel C, such cam ring being provided with the cam n for forcing the plunger inwardly against the tension of the spring M.

O designates a worm fixed upon the shaft I and meshing with a worm wheel P loosely mounted upon a shaft Q which extends through alined hearings in the opposite walls of the casing H. R designates a crank lever arm fixed to the shaft Q. The lever R carries a spring actuated pin S which yieldingly contacts with the surface of the worm wheel P and is'adapted to engage in any one of a series of depressions Q formed in the worm wheel. S designates the spring for actuating the pin S which surrounds the re duced portion 8 of the pin and is located within a chamber in the lever B. s designates a cap for closing the chamber in the lever B and engaging the spring S so as to force the same against a collar 3 on the pin. The reduced portion .9 of the pin passes through and is guided by the cap s. R indicates a roller journaled upon a stud 7- secured to the lever B on the opposite side thereof from the pin S.

T designates a lever pivotally mounted upon a stud T supported by a boss 71, formed on the inner surface of the casing H. A pin t extends outwardly from the lever T and projects through a curved slot in the cover H of the casing. The hub of the lever T is provided with a radial lug 25 adapted to engage a-corresponding lug u formed on a release lever U which is also mounted to oscillate upon the stud T. The

upper end of the release lever U is bifurcated and provided with elongated slots through which extends a pin a carried by the end of a rod V, the latter rod being guided in the bearing it formed within the casing H and extending through an opening in the wall H of the casing. The portion of the rod V which projects through the casing is surrounded by a spring W which bears at one end upon a knob 11 formed on the end of the rod V and its other end is seated within a collar k formed on the wall of the casing around the opening through which the rod extends. The rod V is provided with a keyhole slot V, the smaller portion of which corresponds to the diameter of a rod X adjustably connected by a coupling m with the stem G of the outlet valve. The enlarged portion of the keyhole opening is of slightly greater diameter than the sleeve X surrounding and secured to the upper portion of the rod X, but terminating at its upper end slightly below the upper end of said rod. The sleeve X is provided with a collar m at its lower end which is engaged by the upper end of a spring X which surrounds the rod X and bears at its lower end upon the bottom wall of the casing H around the opening therein through which the rod X extends. The top wall of the casing is provided with a hole 72, through which the upper end of the rod X is adapted to be projected.

The end of the shaft Q, which projects through the front of the casing H; has fixed thereto a knob Y and also carries a pointer g which -cooperates with a clock dial Z 133 formed on the adjacent surface of the cover H of the casing.

The operation of our invention is as follows: Before the water is supplied to the cylinder, the valve is closed by forcing downwardly the hand lever G which pulls downwardly the valve stem G and with it the rod X connected thereto, thereby compressing the spring X and lowering the upper end of the sleeve X below the path of the rod V. The spring lV then forces outwardly the rod vV so that the restricted portion of the keyhole opening therein passes around the upper end of the rod X immediately above the top of the sleeve X. The spring a is thereby held compressed and the valve retained closed. The water may then be supplied to the tank and the articles to be washed placed Within the cylinder therein. Before applying power to the cylinder, the knob Y is rotated in a direction opposite to the movement of the hands of a clock, thereby also rotating the shaft Q and with it the hand 1 of the lever B. This rotation continues until the hand 3 is opposite the number on the dial corresponding to the number of minutes which it is desired the articles should be subjected to the washing action. hen it is desired that the valve should be opened for sixty minutes and it is necessary therefore to locate the pointer and lever R in vertical positions, the lever T is oscillated toward the right in Fig. 3 out of the path of the roller R on the lever R, such oscillation of the lever being effected by applying pressure to the pin 2- which projects through the curved slot in the cover H of the casing. During this movement of the lever R, the pin S passes over the recesses q in the adjacent surface of the worm wheel P, this being permitted by reason of the shape of the recesses. as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. lVhen the pointer 1 has been-located in the desired position relatively to the dial, the pin S is seated in the corresponding recess 9 so that when the worm wheel is rotated in a direction opposite to the movement of the hands of a clock, the abrupt end of the recess q engaged by the pin S will lock the lever B to the worm wheel so that the lever will rotate with the worm wheel and the roller R thereon will engage the lever T.

After the pointer has been set in the above described manner, the power is applied to the cylinder and the rotation of cam ring N with the gear wheel C will bring the cam n past the roller Z and force the plunger L inwardly, thereby oscillating the lever K and rotating the ratchet wheel J through the engagement of the pawl K therewith. The pawl j serves to retain the ratchet wheel J in the positions to which it is moved ste by step by the oscillation of the lever K. lEach time the cam n passes the roller Z the ratchet wheel-J is given a movement corresponding to the oscillation of the lever K. The step by step rotation of the ratchet Wheel J imparts a corresponding rotary movement to the shaft- I and to the worm O fixed thereon. The worm wheel P is consequently rotated in a counter clockwise direction, and when the lever R, which rotates with the worm wheel. engages the lever T, through the contact of the anti-friction roller R therewith, the lever is moved toward the left in Fig. 3, moving the lever U toward the right through the engagement of the lug t on the lever T with the lug u on the lever U. The movement of the lever U toward the right in Fig. 3 moves the dcteut rod V toward the right until the enlarged portion of the. keyhole opening thcrethrough registers with the upper end of the sleeve X, when the spring X will force the sleeve and rod X upwardly, thereby lifting the valve stem G and with it the valve f in the conduit F, so as to open the water outlet from the casing A.

' The time required to rotate the worm wheel P and with it the lever R the angular distance between adjacent graduations is marked upon the dial, the relation between the actuating parts being preferably such that the worm wheel will be completely rotated in an hour. By locating the pointer y opposite the appropriate designations on the dial, the opening of the valve may be so timed as to occur after the elapse of a number of minutes up to one hour. It is, therefore. possible to regulate the interval of time during which the articles will be exposed to the action of the water according to the character of the articles and the time which experience has shown should be allowed for washing them.

After the valv has been opened and the water has run out of the tank, the hand lever G is pressed downwardly, thereby closing the valve and lowering the upper end of the sleeve X below the detent rod V. so that the latter is moved outwardly by the spring W and the restricted portion of the keyhole slot therein moved around the upper end of the rod X and over the upper end of the sleeve X. This movement of the detent rod V toward the left in Fig. 3, moves the lever U and trigger T to the position shown in Fig. 3, in which they are set to be again moved by the roller R on the lever B when th predetermined interval oftime of washing the new charge of articles has elapsed.

The valve may be manually opened when desired by pressing inwardly the knob '22 on the outer end of the detent rod V, thereby compressing the spring W and locating the enlarged portion of the keyhole opening above the upper end of the sleeve X.

The tight closing of the valve may be secured by turning the coupling a: which unites the valve stem G with the rod X,

such coupling having right and left screw threaded openings engaging the, adjacent ends of said rods, thereby varying the combined length of said rods to compensate for wear of the valve or its seat. By properly adjusting the coupling, the combined length of the valve stem G and rod X will be such that when the detent rod V overlies the upper end of the sleeve X the valve will be held in close engagement with its seat.

From the foregoing description, it will be observed that we have invented an improved timing mechanism for automatically controlling th operation of a machine, and more particularly for controlling the time to which articles in a Washing machine will be subjected to the action of the water. It will be further observed that by our improvement the desired operation of the machine will be automatically eflected after the elapse of any redetermined interval of time without requiring the attention of an attendant, thereby rendering it possible for a single attendant to be in charge of a number of machines. The capacity of the machines is therefore morefully utilized, and the time of the attendant economized, as it is not necessary for him to keep a record of the time each of the machines under his charge has been treating the charges of articles in them, nor is it necessary for him to manually open the discharge valve from each machine and then wait until the water has been discharged so that he may close the valve. It will be obvious that our improved timing mechanism is capable of other uses than that herein specifically disclosed, and while we have described more or less in detail the specific form in which we have illustrated our invention as embodied, yet we do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselves thereto, as We contemplate changes in form, proportion of parts, and the substitution of equivalents, as circumstances may require, or as may be deemed expedient.

We claim:

1. In a washing machine comprising a tank and a rotary cylinder therein, the combination with an operating means for rotating said cylinder, of a valve controlling a discharge opening from the tank, a single pivotally mounted tripping device actuated by said means, a member adapted to be engaged by said tripping device and controlling the operation of said valve, means for adjusting said tripping device to vary the interval of time which must elapse before it engages the said member, and -means for moving said member out of the path of said tripping device during the adjustment of the latter.

2. In a washing machine comprising a tank and a rotary cylinder therein, the combination with means for rotating said cylinder, of a valve controllin an outlet from said tank, a wheel rotated y said means, a single pivotally mounted tripping device rotating with and oscillatin relatively to said wheel into difi'erent fix angular positions thereon, and a member adapted to be engaged by said tripping device and controlling the operation of said valve.

3. In a washing machine comprising a tank and a rotary cylinder therein, the com-.

bination with means for rotating said cylinder,. of a valve controlling an outlet from said tank, a Wheel rotated by said means, a single pivotally mounted tripping device rotating with and adjustable relatively to said wheel in the direction of movement thereof into different fixed positions thereon, a member adapted to be engaged by said tripping device, and a reciprocating rod operatively connected to said member and controlling the operation of said valve.

4. In a washing machine comprising a tank and a rotary cylinder therein, the combination with means for rotating said cylinder, of a valve controlling an outlet from said tank, a wheel rotated by said means, a tripping lever rotating with said wheel, a pointer carried by said tripping lever, a fixed dial relatively to which said pointer is moved by said lever, means for adjusting said tripping lever relatively to said wheel to conform to the adjustment of said pointer relatively to said dial, and a member adapted to be engaged by said tripping lever for controlling the operation of said valve to permit the discharge of Water from said tank after a predetermined operation of said cylinder.

5. In a washing machine comprising a tank and a rotary cylinder therein, the combination with means for rotating said cylinder, of a valve controlling an outlet from said tank, a worm, means for rotatin said worm step by step actuated by sai first means, a worm Wheel in mesh with said worm, a tripping device rotating with and mounted to oscillate relatively to said worm Wheel into diiferent fixed angular positions thereon, and a member adapted to be engaged by said tripping device for controlling the operation of said valve to permit the discharge of water from said tank after a predetermined operation of said cylinder.

6. In a, machine of the character described, the c'ombination with an operating element, of an operated element, a worm, a shaft upon which said worm is fixed, a reciprocating plunger operatively connected to said shaft to rotate the same, a cam carried by said operating element and inter-- mittently engaging said plunger to reciprocate the same, a worm wheel in mesh with said worm, a tripping lever rotating with and adjustable relatively to said worm wheel, and a member adapted to be engaged by said tripping lever for controlling the operation of said second element.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination with an operating element, of an operated element, a wheel rotated by said first element, a tripping device rotating with and adjustable relatively to said wheel, a member adapted to be engaged by said tripping device, a reciprocating rod operatively connected to said memher, and a second reciprocating rod connected to said second element and controlled by said first reciprocating rod.

8. In a washing machine, the combination with a tank, of a valve controlling an outlet from said tank, a cylinder in said tank, means for rotating said cylinder, a rod connected to said valve, a spring for normally opening said valve, a detent adapted to engage said rod to hold said valve closed, and mechanism operated by said rotating means to actuate said detent to release said rod and permit said valve to open, said mechanism comprising means for adjusting the operation of said detent to vary the interval of time which must elapse prior to the opening of said valve.

9. In a washing machine, the combination with a tank, of a valve controlling an outlet from said tank, a cylinder in said tank, means for rotating said cylinder, a rod connected to said valve, a spring for normally opening said valve, a detent adapted to engage said rod to hold said valve closed, mechanism operated by said rotating means to actuate said detent to release said rod and permit said valve to open, said mechanism comprising means for adjusting the operation of said detent to vary the interval of time which must elapse prior to the opening of said valve, and means for manually actuating said detent to permit said valve to open. 7

In testimony whereof, we have subscribed our names.

WILLIAM BARTHOLOMEW. FRITZ BALZER.

Witnesses:

GEo. L. WILKINSON, HENRY A. Fame. 

